Portable communication terminals such as a cellular phone have been changing its external form or shape. For example, a flip-type, a bar-type, and a folder-type cellular phone have been known. Recently, a slider-type cellular phone has been commercialized and attracted attentions. In general, a slider-type portable terminal is comprised of a main body and a cover slidably engaged with the main body. That is, the cover opens and closes the main body while sliding upwards and downwards along the main body.
Regarding the sliding mechanism enabling such a sliding movement, also various modes have been proposed. It includes a sliding mechanism using a sliding space and a guide rail, a sliding mechanism using a rack and a pinion, an especially designed sliding mechanism using a slider structure supported by a base plate, a guide hole for guiding the slider structure and a leaf spring. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,027 discloses a sliding mechanism, where a cover including a latch, a latch catch and an actuator is slidably coupled to a housing such that the cover is opened and closed by means of a tension spring.
However, the conventional sliding mechanisms do not have any means for providing a moving force for sliding, and thus the slider cover is made to move only as much as a user pushes up or down. That is, it can travel only a short distance at a time. In addition, the main body and the cover of a cellular phone are combined with each other through a single sliding structure. Thus, the sliding structure may be easily damaged by an external impact so that the cover can be released from the main body, thereby failing to provide a good durability.
Furthermore, the above conventional sliding device is composed of a guiding base member and a slider member slidably engaged therewith. Commonly, the guiding base member is coupled to the rear face of the cover of a cellular phone and the slider member is attached to the upper portion of the front face in the main body thereof. That is, the guiding base member and the slider member are fabricated separately from the main body and the cover of a cellular phone and then combined thereto respectively using a bolt. Accordingly, the main body and the cover of the cellular phone must be provided with resting places for the guiding base and slider members and also bolt holes for connection with each other. Therefore, it leads to a complicated coupling structure, which will result in complicated molding dies, thereby consequently increasing the manufacturing cost of the sliding device and extending the assembling time therefor.
The above matters are considered as fundamental problems with the conventional sliding mechanisms. As such, there is a need to provide a novel sliding mechanism and an appliance implementing the novel mechanism, which has a more simplified structure and provides an improved assembling efficiency.